The Question Vikings Season Ticket Holders Refuse to Answer
Vikings season ticket holders / Vikings stadium Wilfare supporters tend to be a chatty bunch, until their demands for public subsidies of their season tickets are questioned. Below are five examples of tweets from Vikings season ticket holders that received no response.
I think this question needs to be addressed. Why do Vikings season ticket holders feel entitled to other people’s money to subsidize their private entertainment?
October 17th, 2011 at 8:28 am
I suppose the same question could be posed of visitors to the Guthrie or the Cowles Center. We’re talking about much larger dollar amounts for a stadium, and it’s for a for-profit company — but the question of subsidizing season ticket sales isn’t really a valid one.
We stock Minnesota lakes with fish to keep hobby fishermen happy too.
We do that kind of thing all the time with the arts.
Keep banging the drum, though. You’re raising so many fascinating, data-based issues.
October 17th, 2011 at 9:00 am
I find it really pathetic that of all the problems in the world, this is the one you are militant about. I don’t disagree with you at all, but your constant whining is very off-putting. THIS is your cause? Get a life.
October 17th, 2011 at 9:11 am
@Steve, it sounds like you can’t handle The Deets.
October 17th, 2011 at 9:19 am
@Jason, my logic on the season ticket holder subsidy argument is that the Vikings could raise money to pay for a new stadium through Personal Seat Licenses, where season ticket holders could write checks for $10,000 each (or, more likely, higher amounts for the best seats) in order to privately fund their preferred form of private entertainment. But, the Vikings and Vikings season ticket holders seem to prefer to have their costs subsidized by those the vast majority of Minnesotans who will never step foot into the stadium.
Based on the 2009 Legacy Amendment’s popularity, it seems safe to assume that the public, in general, supports spending some public dollars to support arts programs, natural resources, outdoor recreation, and environmental issues. These are largely programs that allow people off all ages, locations, and incomes to enjoy our state in ways that would not otherwise exist. On the other hand, building a new Vikings stadium is a lateral move with a high public cost that could easily be brought down by hundreds of millions of dollars if season ticket holders, the Vikings, and the NFL weren’t so adamant about spending other people’s money for their own private entertainment and profit.
October 17th, 2011 at 11:48 am
Based on some of the Tweets and taglines, I’m starting to agree with Pat Reusse, who once said that the fan base of the Minnesota Vikings is largely made up of guys whose favorite time of the week is a 5 p.m. Friday and whose worst time of the week is 8 a.m. Monday.
October 17th, 2011 at 2:59 pm
One guy who keeps banging the drum, digging up facts and data…that one guy can change the whole game when it comes to any issue.
Sure, I’d rather see Ed hitting other subjects near and dear to my heart, like “Shakedown Blogger” Don Allen’s Twitter-porno obsession.
But this is the topic he’s picked, and he’s having an impact on the issue. Keep up the good work, Ed.
October 17th, 2011 at 8:37 pm
Jason, the Vikings are asking for taxpayer money that amounts to about $40 per seat per game for the next 30 years.
Compare this to the Twins Stadium deal, where the taxpayer subsidy amounts to about $2.50 per seat for the next 30 years.
I was able to determine that the Guthrie got a $25 million grant from the state for the new theater. According to the Guthrie’s annual report, annual attendance is around 500,000. If we projected that over 30 years, that would put the state subsidy at about $1.67 per attendee.
October 18th, 2011 at 4:09 pm
Just wanted to chime in and say the tone of the anti-stadium crowd would probably be a lot different if the Vikings were asking for a public contribution amount closer to the Guthrie ($25 million) or even the Twins (~$400 million, IIRC). The “ticket subsidy” argument may not be the best, but the fact is that the Vikings are asking for significantly more public money than any similar enterprise in Minnesota, at a time when the economy is significantly worse.
October 18th, 2011 at 4:42 pm
@Tony, if the Vikings weren’t demanding that we subsidize the 3rd most expensive stadium in NFL history, they may also have more public support.
November 7th, 2011 at 10:32 am
[...] of Zygi Wilf’s Wilfare demands to previous publicly subsidized event centers. That credit should go to Peter H, who shared that data in the comments here. Sorry about that, [...]